‘I‘m not sure Cisco will appreciate your absence, all things considered,’ Carlos notes as he comes from behind, his arms crossed over his chest as he is undoubtedly waiting to give me an earful.
‘I’ll be back to the house by dawn,’ I reply, continuing to punch the bag in an attempt to exercise all the anger out of me.
‘And he will know you’ve been absent,’ he sighs. ‘Look, I wasn’t on board with you staying with them in the first place, but since you committed to it…’
‘If I’d gone over to the house,’ I interrupt him, stopping the reeling bag as I turn towards Carlos, ‘I would have killed her. I would have strangled her or worse, I would have cut her to pieces right in front of her brother. Is that what you want? Because I’m sure Cisco wouldn’t appreciate that.’
He rolls his eyes at me, taking a towel and handing it to me when I finish my set.
‘I’m surprised the youngest one, Amo, didn’t catch on to your murderous intent. If we’d come back even a moment later, I know you would have killed her.’
Carlos, better than anyone, knows how much I despise Noelle and everything she stands for—my nightmares and the scars that still mar my body. To think that she’s still alive…
‘And I’m still not sure I won’t,’ my lips twitch. ‘Even sitting across from her at the dinner table was pure torture, but to be in the same house as her and not kill her?’ I shake my head, wiping the sweat off my face and taking a sip of water from a nearby bottle.
‘Look,’ he starts again in a serious tone. ‘I know who she is to you and what she’s done. I understand that. But we’ve already embarked on this. You need to put aside your loathing of her for a moment while we gain Cisco’s confidence.’
‘I know. Trust me, I’m actively trying to suppress myself.’
‘Good. Just don’t kill her yet. Who knows, we might find some other use for her down the line. But think about everything we planned—think about everything you planned,’ he points out and I nod.
‘You’re right. I need to get my head in the game. I’ve worked too hard to get here and I’m not going to let her take another thing from me. Her time will come. And while I can’t kill her now… I’m sure I can find some ways to make her regret her existence,’ a smile pulls at my lips.
Maybe it had been fate that she hadn’t died that night. Death would have been too easy for someone like her—an undeserved mercy. For the first time since seeing her, I’m starting to see the bright side in her survival. Now I can make her life a living hell. And damn if my chest doesn’t buzz with excitement at the prospect.
‘Good,’ Carlos chuckles. ‘Anything short of murder works. And now that we’ve gotten that out of the way…’ he starts detailing what Pancho and Anita found while combing through the security footage—specifically that Ortega is loitering around New York.
‘Bit of a coincidence, wouldn’t you say?’ I raise an eyebrow. ‘We just arrive and he’s suddenly here as well?’
‘Indeed. I’m going to look a bit more into that. You get your ass to Cisco’s house and behave. We still need his influence and the protection of his name to move around. And your nightly expeditions aren’t going to earn you any bonus points.’
‘You’re right,’ I sigh, placing my hand on his shoulder in a friendly pat. ‘Wish me luck,’ I joke.
‘Better not see you at a funeral next,’ he winks at me, ‘unless it’s your brother’s.’
I give a low chuckle as I walk away, heading for the showers before cleaning up and heading back to Cisco’s house.
I know I’m courting danger by the sole fact that I’m driving alone, at night, when I have a whopping seven figure price tag on my head.
Yet I needed that break.
I hadn’t been kidding when I’d told Carlos I was close to fucking killing Noelle. Especially when she’d had the gall to look at me with that innocent look of hers that no doubt works with everyone else around her. She’d been so quick to deny everything and claim no knowledge of the situation, and that had enraged me even further. To add insult to the injury, she hadn’t even remembered me, as if the times we’d crossed paths had been of such little importance to her that she’d promptly forgotten them.
But maybe they had been. After all, I’d been just a puny slave and she’d been the wife of the master. Still, the memory of her disdainful eyes as she’d thrown a plate at my head is still fresh in my mind. She might have forgotten all about it, but I haven’t.
I can vividly picture the way she’d signaled one of her servants, whispering something in his ear and pointing towards me. It was a moment after that I’d been escorted—rather forcefully—out, because my lowly blood was staining the master’s carpet.
That had been my first introduction to the infamous la diabla that everyone was talking about in hushed tones. And my opinion of her had only become worse over time, seeing her for the vicious little bitch she was, but also hearing from Lucero how badly Noelle treated her—her supposed friend.
My hands tighten on the steering wheel as pain hits me right in the chest at the thought of Lucero. But I can’t go there. Not now when I’m one step closer to fulfilling everything I’d planned.
I’ll honor my promise to Carlos and I won’t kill Noelle—yet. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let her get away with everything she’s done. Especially since I know for sure she had something to do with Lucero’s death—with everyone’s deaths.
By the time Carlos and I had reached the hacienda, it had been enveloped in flames, tens of charred bodies strewn around—people who had attempted to run out of the house while in flames. It had been something out of a horror movie, and I’m convinced that only someone with no soul could commit a massacre of that magnitude.
I reach the DeVille house before dawn. As I make my way up the stairs to my designated room, I hear the soft melody of a piano again.
Closing my eyes I take a deep breath, wondering if it’s Cisco’s wife that’s playing, since I’d heard she was a lover of music.
Even so, the melody touches something within me, reminding me of those hopeless days I lay pitifully in my cell, not knowing if I was going to make it yet another day. In those times, music had somehow saved me. For all the death and gloom that accompanied my captivity, there had always been a sad yet sweet melody that had almost roused me against my will, making me fight for another day. Then, just like now, the taste had been bittersweet—a melody laced with pain, but underneath all the sadness there had been the hint of hope.
Realizing I’d been frozen on the spot in front of my door, I shake myself from my melancholic musings as I enter the room.
For the next few hours, until breakfast is served, I catalog every new piece of information we’d gleaned and I factor it into the equation. The only way to win this is to have every single basis covered, and that means minimizing our weaknesses while capitalizing on those of our enemies.
By the time I get to the breakfast table, everyone is already seated. Cisco and his wife are on one side, while Amo and Noelle on the other. From what I’d gathered, it’s going to be this formation from now on. The middle brother and his wife have already left, while Cisco’s eldest son is away at boarding school.
The moment I enter the room, though, all eyes are on me.
‘Rough night?’ Cisco raises a brow as he sips on his coffee, a knowing smile on his face.
I don’t miss the way Amo hides a chuckle, Noelle blinking rapidly as she stares at me, quickly looking away the moment she’s caught.
‘You could say so,’ I grunt, taking a seat at the other end of the table, ensuring that I have an unperturbed view of Noelle.
She doesn’t turn to me again, and I can tell she’s forcing herself to pay attention to the food on her plate rather than meet my gaze. She’s holding tightly onto the cutlery, her fingers almost white from the vicious grip.
A slow smile pulls at my lips as I realize our previous encounter must have rattled her.
‘Amo’s already given me an account of the warehouse, and I must say,’ Cisco notes, leaning forward, ‘I’m impressed.’
‘I told you I didn’t come empty-handed,’ I reply, taking some toast and organizing my plate from the wide selection of cheeses and ham.
‘I underestimated you, Rafaelo,’ he muses, his tone serious.
‘Please, call me Raf. We’re going to be associates from now on, no?’ I ask suggestively, moving my gaze around the table before stopping at Noelle.
Her mouth is slightly open as she gapes at me—undoubtedly shocked I’m here to stay.
Stay and make her life a living hell.
Her reaction is only making me more excited about what’s to come. Although I won’t be able to kill her outright, who says I can’t play with her a little? Give her a taste of the terror she’d so liked to spread to others in the past?
‘Raf,’ Cisco chuckles. ‘I have a feeling we’re going to be great friends, Raf.’
‘Ditto,’ I raise my water glass towards him, mimicking a toast.
The conversation flows, quickly straying from our particular business and into the mundane.
‘Don’t forget you have your therapy appointment today, Noelle,’ Cisco tells his sister in a stern tone.
‘Of course,’ she mumbles, her eyes still on the plate.
Cisco doesn’t seem satisfied with her reply, but then this appears to be the norm from what I’d observed. Everyone looks after Noelle as the youngest, but they also seem to think her a little out of control—a fact which might prove useful in the future.
I continue to study their interaction and I realize that although Cisco takes a fatherly tone towards her, hers is full of animosity, as if she’s conversing with an enemy.
Interesting…
‘You know what will happen if you skip once more,’ he chides, and his wife is quick to try to appease him—again, this seems to be the norm. Cisco will get mad at Noelle and Yuyu will serve as a buffer between the two, often trying to calm Cisco down.
‘Right, you’ll send me to the looney,’ she rolls her eyes at him.
‘Noelle,’ Cisco’s tone becomes more severe.
‘I won’t skip, I promise. Is that fine?’ She turns to him, batting her lashes at him, practically baiting him to lose his temper.
I barely stifle a scoff as I realize Noelle is finally starting to show some of her real colors—the true colors of la diabla.
Her tone is enough to remind me of the nasty bitch I’d met at the hacienda.
‘Raf,’ Cisco suddenly calls out, and my attention snaps to him. ‘Why don’t you accompany Noelle to her appointment? I trust you will find something interesting along the way,’ his lip tugs up as he slowly raises the coffee mug to his mouth.
Yuyu regards her husband with warmth and what can only be described as pride, and that gives me pause.
Besides the odd nature of his request—not so strange since I did agree to offer my services should he need them—Yuyu’s reaction doesn’t suggest there might be a malicious hidden intent behind it.
I narrow my eyes at him, trying to gauge what he’s after.
Noelle chooses that exact moment to burst out in a loud tirade.
‘What the hell? Why? I already promised you, Cisco! You don’t have to send him with me. I’m going to behave, ok? He doesn’t have to come anywhere with me,’ she spares me a glance, and I could swear I see a shiver go down her back when her eyes meet mine.
Satisfaction blooms inside me at the thought that I scare her—oh, but this is just the beginning. And seeing her so outraged at the request, I can’t help but bait her.
‘It would be an honor, Cisco. I’ll make sure your sister gets to the right destination,’ I dutifully accept.
Noelle turns to me, her eyes widening as she regards me.
‘No,’ she shakes her head. ‘No. I’m not going anywhere with him!’ She states staunchly, getting up and placing her hands on the table. ‘I’m not going anywhere near him,’ she continues.
‘Noelle,’ Cisco massages his temples, almost out of patience. ‘Yesterday you were very thrilled to get to know him better. Now you don’t want to be anywhere near him?’ He asks, raising an eyebrow at her.
‘That…’ she stammers, looking between me and Cisco, ‘That…’ she fakes a cough, no doubt realizing she’s been caught in her own web. ‘That was yesterday. I’ve decided I don’t like him,’ she raises her chin proudly.
‘You don’t like him?’ Cisco drawls, narrowing his eyes.
‘I’m sorry I rejected your advances, Noelle,’ I suddenly say, putting on my most stern look. ‘I didn’t think you’d take it so badly, but you must realize it would be wrong of me to engage with the sister of the man I’m working with,’ I add with a slight shake of my head.
The entire table is quiet.
Noelle is frozen to the spot as she stares at me open mouthed. The tension is palpable in the room, and I can almost feel the slight tremble of her body. I regard her carefully, my eyes trailing over her face—that beautiful face wasted on someone like her—and to her neck, where there’s the slightest indication of discomfiture in the way she swallows hard, a sheen of perspiration on her tawny skin. I zero in on a droplet of sweat, watching, almost transfixed as it trails its way from the hollow of her neck to the valley of her breasts…
Catching myself just in time, my gaze snaps back to her face.
‘Why… I never…’ she stumbles over her words, and the look on her face is priceless. A mix of anger, shock, annoyance and fear—it’s all there for me to see and feast on. Why, her feelings of distress taste even better than my breakfast, feeding my need for destruction. There’s nothing better than cornering her, getting her out of her comfort zone.
‘I don’t want things to become awkward between the two of us,’ I raise my napkin to dab at the corner of my lips, my back straight, my movements sharp and calculated. ‘I realize someone of your age is easily prone to infatuation, but I hope we can still be friends,’ I give her a small smile, as if I’m comforting her.
It takes everything in me to keep this game of pretense on—the smile on my face like acid on my tongue. But I don’t waver.
This is just the beginning. If her own family thinks she’s unstable, then why don’t I turn it into reality?
‘Noelle,’ Cisco sighs, while Yuyu gives her a worried look. ‘Is that why you were so adamant to go to the warehouse yesterday? To throw yourself at him?’
‘I didn’t…’ she’s still mumbling incoherently, as if she can’t quite believe what’s happening.
It seems I’ve shocked her poisonous tongue in place, and it’s becoming harder and harder not to gloat at her distress.
‘Now, Cisco,’ I interrupt, putting on the best act of my life. ‘Don’t be too harsh on her. It’s a totally normal thing to like someone if they are kind to you. Because that’s what happened, isn’t it, Noelle? You mistook my kindness for interest.’
She’s staring at me as if I’ve sprung a second head, a small frown marring her perfect skin as she blinks rapidly, her mouth opening and closing as she can’t seem to find the words to argue back.
‘Just because I refused your advances doesn’t mean we can’t continue on good terms. And to show you I’m not mad, I will accompany you to your therapist appointment,’ I lean back in my seat, plastering on a pleasant smile.
‘Raf, you don’t have to,’ Cisco sighs, looking between the two of us. ‘Maybe I was mistaken,’ he mumbles under his breath, but I’m quick to get a read of the situation, and my inner delight only increases as I file away another piece of information I might exploit later.
‘Noelle…’ Amo turns to his sister, ‘when did you have time? I turned my back maybe for a minute and you…’ He bangs his hand on the table in frustration, making her jump up, her expression filled with apprehension.
‘I didn’t,’ she makes a poor attempt at defending herself. ‘I swear I didn’t. He’s lying,’ she points at me in a vicious tone. ‘You’re lying! Just admit it! You’re doing this for revenge, aren’t you? Is this your little game of making me suffer?’ she asks in an accusatory tone, but before I can intervene to stop her from mentioning something that might interfere with my plans, Cisco does it for me.
‘Enough! For God’s sake, Noelle! Revenge? Now I’ve heard it all. Why would he want revenge on you?’ He shakes his head in disappointment. ‘I’ll have a few words with your therapist about your delusions. This has gone on for too long. Hear that, revenge,’ he scoffs at her.
‘But…but…’ she tries to argue, incensed.
‘No buts, Noelle. In fact, please apologize to our guest,’ he motions towards me.
‘What? Of course not. It’s not my fault!’
‘Noelle,’ Cisco calls her name in an exasperated tone, and she notices too because she shrinks a little in her seat. ‘Apologize before I take away more of your privileges. Is that what you want? No access to your phone? Or to your laptop? Or maybe no more outings, either.’
‘You can’t do that,’ she whispers, her eyes wide as she seems to barely stop herself from bursting into tears.
‘I am your legal guardian in case you’ve forgotten. So yes, I can,’ he gives her a stern look.
She pouts, her expression defiant. For a moment I’m sure she’s going to refuse, but then she turns towards me, her eyes shooting daggers at me as she says the words.
‘I’m sorry,’ she mumbles in a low voice.
‘I don’t think I heard you,’ I say as I lean in, waiting for her to repeat the words. I heard her very well the first time, but considering how the words burn on her tongue, I can’t pass on the opportunity of seeing her catch fire—this time for good. ‘Can you repeat that?’ A smile pulls at my lips as I note the flames that spread to her eyes. She’s looking at me as if she’d like nothing better than to kill me on the spot, and that’s exactly the type of reaction I want from her.
I want her uncomfortable.
‘I’m sorry,’ she repeats, louder but still on a mumble, looking completely dejected as she settles back in her seat. Her gaze is set on mine as she stares at me for a few more seconds, the intensity in her eyes promising retribution at some point in time.
Before she turns away, though, I feel compelled to bait her, and I mouth a low bring it on to her.
‘It’s ok. I won’t hold it against you,’ I immediately add playfully, trying to lighten the mood at the table and distract the others from our little hidden exchange. ‘I’m not opposed to getting to know each other a little better, but insta-love isn’t really my thing,’ I add jokingly, and everyone but her bursts into laughter.
I, too, pretend to be amused by the situation, but while my lips are tugged up in a perpetual smile, it doesn’t reach my eyes.
My nostrils flare slightly, but everyone seems to be oblivious to our dynamic. In fact, my little lie seems to be received as an inherent truth, and it gives me even more ammunition against Noelle. Because now I know even her family won’t help her.
I doubt anyone will.
The little bitch turns to me, her expression that of a feral cat that wants to jump on that which she considers a danger. Ah, but her mask is slipping. Seeing as the atmosphere at the table is decidedly not in her favor, she refrains from jumping at me.
I continue with my act, feigning amusement at her tantrums, though both Cisco and Amo keep making excuses for her behavior.
The meal goes on and I note Yuyu leaning towards Noelle as they engage in a heated conversation.
The corner of my mouth twitches in amusement as I realize I can truly end her. No matter what lies I tell, no one will believe her. And it’s all I need to know to address Cisco in a pleasant voice.
‘Cisco,’ I start, taking a sip of my water and making my body language seem natural. ‘Since we’re in the same industry, so to speak,’ I give him a smile, which he returns, ‘I was wondering about your take on a certain thing.’
‘Do tell,’ he nods at me.
‘What would you do if someone killed your loved one?’ He raises an eyebrow, but I just keep going. ‘How would you punish them?’
‘Anyone in particular we’re thinking about?’
‘I’m sure you can guess,’ I give a vague reply, letting my gaze roam around the table to find a wide eyed Noelle staring at me with none of the aggression from earlier, just fear—palpable, sweet fear.
‘That is a very complex question,’ Cisco chuckles, turning to his wife.
‘You asked the right person,’ Yuyu purses her lips to stifle a laugh. ‘He’s been known to try a thing or two before.’
Amo settles back in his chair, shaking his head—clearly aware of Yuyu’s implication.
‘Total annihilation,’ Cisco states, his expression suddenly serious. ‘And I don’t mean death, though that may work in extreme cases. But killing someone…’ he pauses, taking Yuyu’s hand in his and bringing it to his lips for a kiss, ‘would never be enough. No, my method is total annihilation of the heart and soul. Take everything from them until nothing remains but the shell. Afterwards, you can choose whether to kill them or not, but I find that death in that case would be a mercy.’
‘Interesting,’ I tip my head up, my eyes on him, though I’m still focused on Noelle from the periphery of my gaze, watching the play of emotions on her face and how she’s becoming increasingly fidgety.
‘You kill the inside and the outside quickly follows. Identify what they value the most, and attack that at full force.’
‘Like what you did with Guerra years ago,’ I observe.
Cisco pauses, but the amusement never leaves his face.
‘Exactly what I did to Guerra,’ he smirks.
He’d identified my father’s weakness—his obsession with his social standing and a need to get richer and richer—and he’d struck, using my sister Gianna to make our family the laughingstock of the entire Upper East Side. I’d been in my early teens then, but I still remember the scandal, and the fact that my sister had disappeared soon after.
‘Brilliant,’ I praise, showing there’s no bad blood. Since I’d found out from some sources that my sister was living happily with her husband and children outside the famiglia, then there’s nothing to begrudge. ‘I might borrow your tactic.’
‘Please do,’ he smiles wolfishly, ‘but remember it’s always a war of attrition—never a blitzkrieg. The more you draw it out, the more they suffer.’
‘Indeed,’ I drawl, and just at that moment, Noelle jumps out of her seat, excusing herself to go change for her therapy appointment.
